"Mad Men", the tarot, and Don Draper's dark night of the soul

(Beware: spoilers ahead, as well as some musings on Don Draper's "dark night of the soul".  If you're not a "Maddict", you'll still glean something from this post, but if you worship at the altar of Sterling, Cooper and Partners, you'll feel much more at home.)

Take a look at this card:

When folks pull the 10 of Swords in a tarot reading, there's some heaviness afoot  What's really interesting is that most times, when a querrant sees it in a past or present position, they intrinsically know why it's there and how to apply it to their current situation.  If it's in a future position, I carefully read surrounding cards and let them know that a dark period may be near, but to fear not, because a new dawn is just above the horizon.

That's what the card tells us: that we have reached our nadir, but that there will be a new light, a new hope.  We have to hit the low points, the rock bottom, the nadir, before we can move onward.  Pain, devastation, desolation will be followed by calm, peace and resurgent light; it's a law of the Universe.

The reason I'm reflecting upon this card today is in response to an image that is haunting me from last night's episode of "Mad Men": Don Draper, curled up on his office sofa, in a fetal position.  Earlier in the episode, Don is curled in a near-fetal position on his daughter's empty bed. If you haven't been following along with the show, here's my thumbnail: Don Draper can't go any lower.  SPOILERS: He's cheated on his adoring wife, alienated most of his co-workers and partners, lied to said co-workers and partners, marred his daughter for life after she caught him having sex with his neighbor, and irreparably damaged his relationship with his protege, Peggy Olsen.  Once considered an enigma, a cool, distant creative genius responsible for crafting brilliant advertising and instilling in many a simultaneous sense of awe, admiration, fear, and indisputable sexual desire, Don is now referred to as "a monster" by the one person (Peggy) who saw the warmth hidden at the center of his soul, even amidst the outer slick facade.



Season 6's poster seemingly depicts two Dons, and the season was all about his slow, slimy descent into darkness and alienation where both sides of his personality wrestled.  Which one will make it out alive by this Sunday's season finale?  Right now, a shadow of his former self exists, curled up on a tiny tweed sofa.  The bravado, the cool, the suave demeanor: all gone.  In their place: a man who might not even know himself if he met him in the revolving door, broken, scared, and stripped naked of his dignity and self-worth.

In my daydreams today, I had Don Draper sit across from me at the table here in the coffeehouse and I read his cards, much like his dear friend Anna Draper used to*.  And I confirmed, as he drew the 10 of Swords, that every nadir has an opposing apex.  And, like the images of him on the poster, he's been launched, full-throttle, into his own "Fool's Journey" throughout the entire series, facing glorious highs and inky-black lows.  But, like the major arcana's Fool, the power lies within.   The Fool is Number 0 in the tarot, the beginning and end, alpha and omega.  it's where the journey ends, as well as where it begins. And I lean in to Don and I whisper, "The power to heal and discover and fly lies within and is tied to the belief that you need to let go and trust in order to soar."  And Don thanks me, and slowly stands up to leave, stops near the door, turns back, and says "Thank you.  I'm ready for the journey.  I have no choice but to choose to do so"




*Over a year ago, I wrote another "Mad Men"-inspired blog post.  If you're curious, here's the link:

http://mid-centurymystic.blogspot.com/2012/03/monday-is-tarot-day-and-yesterday-don.html